Advantages: Good for children's learning & volume control!
Disadvantages: Can't think of any

...I bought my son a leappad at Christmas when he was 3½. It cost around £30 for the actual leappad, and any books are extra. The leappad itself is like a small children's hardback computer. It opens out and in the middle of it you place the book. There is a relevant cartridge to go with each book which is slotted into the side of the leappad. There is also a pen - not a real one, but one that scrolls along the books. The leappads come in two colours -pink or blue. There are a wide variety of books - Toy Story, Cat in the Hat, Finding Nemo, Winnie the Pooh, Scooby Doo, etc. In the books there are a variety of things for children to do, from reading the books with their pens (learning about words), games (fun but learning about words, numbers at the same time), and other activities such as pointing at words for the leappad to read... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Great educational toy, very easy to use, lots of choice for books
Disadvantages: None

...Can I just say that I am a huge fan of LeapPads -- they are a great educational toy! Along the same line, I think the 'My First LeapPad' is a excellent educational toy. It teaches numbers, letters, shapes, colors,writing and a variety of other simple, toddler-friendly subjects. We bought our 2 girls one last christmas, They were 2.5 and 3.5 years old and they could both manage all aspects of playing with their Leap Pad books with no adult assistance. There is quite a large variety of books you can buy for the leappad and each book comes with a cartridge that just slots into the side. The majority of books that are for the Leappad are educational, which is great because while your child thinks they are playing they are actually learning too. The books clip on to the Leappad with a ring binding mechanism, very easy for your child to do... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Educational, and suitable for a wide range of abilities
Disadvantages: Price of books

...Having a son, Michael, with learning difficulties presents many problems, not least deciding what to get them for Christmas presents. Age appropriate toys are too difficult, while most that are developmentally appropriate are babyish. This year all my son's relatives gave up and ended up putting money in his cards, so he had a tidy sum to spend in the new year sales. While hunting for that elusive, suitable toy my husband happened upon a Spiderman edition LeapPad in Asdas for the very reasonable price of £20, including not one but two books, and so he had to get one. ~~~The LeapPad Range~~~ There are a number of systems in the LeapPad range including : LeapPad Learning System - available in blue/green and pink Spiderman LeapPad Bundle - red and blue with a Spiderman logo and extra Spiderman LeapPad book. LeapPad Plus Writing... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Packs lots of activities into one place
Disadvantages: Fairly expensive

...The aim of the LeapPad Learning System is to bring books to life. A spiral bound book is placed into a plastic folder, and a cassette is inserted into the side of the folder. Then, using the ‘magic’ pen provided, you can interact with the book by touching the pages to hear words and music. The LeapPad comes with an introductory book which includes a story about Tad the frog and his friends, an excerpt from Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever, a Winnie the Pooh story and other sections including parts of the body, a section on the instruments of the orchestra, and an introduction to foreign languages. To tell the LeapPad what page you are looking at, you touch the green ‘go’ circle on the side of the page. If you are looking at a page from the story about Tad, it will read the words on that page. When you touch the characters... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Great for young and old, educational and fun
Disadvantages: None

...Having bought the Leappad for my daughter at Christmas, I cannot sing enough praise for it. It was on display at our local Woolworths and it was the one toy that my daughter would spend ages playing with. Although at £34.99, my first thoughts were it is a lot to spend on something that could just end up in the back of the cupboard with all the other unwanted toys, but I'm glad to say that since it was opened at Christmas it has never been put down. This price includes one leap pad book which I must say has brought hours of amusement for all of us. It is very educational as all aspects of Children's development are included in the books. The development skills explored include vocabulary, story reading, and phonics development. Your child can also learn other languages including French, German, Spanish and even Japanese... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Encourages learning through hearing different words and sounds.
Disadvantages: No disadvantages.

...My daughter, who has only just turned three received a Leappad from Santa at Christmas. Although I was a bit concerned since the item stipulated that it was for children aged 4 plus my wor